Easy Healthy Living Tips for Women

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #NourishWhatMatters #CollectiveBias

Are you a busy mom with good intentions like me? I want to make healthy choices, eat right, get plenty of sleep and exercise every day, but somehow life always seems to get in the way. Rather than drive myself crazy, I’ve been looking for simple ways I can work healthy choices into my busy schedule. Here are ten easy healthy living tips for women that work for me in my everyday routine.

When I was younger, before I was married and had children, I could arrange and rearrange my life to make sure that I ate well at every meal, swam in the morning before work three times a week and went to an exercise class after work three times a week. Sounds like a lot to do and work (and it was), but it was easy to fit that all in when my schedule was all about me. Now that I have five people (and a dog and leopard gecko) to take care of, I’m not able to arrange my schedule around just around me. I’ve decided to stop feeling guilty about it and purposefully fit as many healthy living choices as I can into each of my days. These easy “tricks” don’t take extra time, I’ve found ways to fit them into my everyday routine so that I don’t have to make time for them I just do them as part of my day.

Easy Healthy Living Tips for Women

Work Your Arms While Carrying Groceries – If you’re a busy mom, you’re carrying lots of groceries into the house each week. I’ve started using those bags of groceries to help me get in a little arm work. I have to carry all those grocery bags in whether I grumpily drag them into the house or purposefully use them to sneak some strength building into that chore. You can sneak both biceps and triceps strengthening in to all those trips into the house carrying groceries.

Drink More Water – I know I should drink more water, but somehow just never get around to it. I now make a point to keep a glass of water next to me when I’m working. When the glass of water is there with me, I find that I drink it right up without even thinking about it. If plain water just isn’t exciting enough, try seltzer or sparkling water. Those bubbles make drinking water just that much more fun.

Stretch and Strengthen in the Shower – Stop and think of how many hours you spend in the shower over the course of a month. It’s probably 4 – 5 hours a month. Wow! Spend that time strengthening your abdominal muscles and improving your posture Pilates style. Stand up straight and contract your abdominal muscles (pull your bellybutton in) and hold it during your entire shower. You should be able to breathe normally but feel the contraction. Whenthe shower is over, use the time while you squeegee the shower walls to stretch tall and then down to the floor like doing toe touches. Always be careful while on tile so you don’t slip.

Stretch While Brushing Your Teeth – It takes me about five minutes total a day to brush my teeth. That’s five minutes of calf stretches or gentle lunges each day. Doing these while I brush my teeth means I’ve just worked 5 minutes of stretches into every day while keeping my busy schedule free. Again, please be careful on the tile floor.

Do Kegels When You’re at a Stoplight – Childbirth can weaken the muscles of the pelvic floor, which can lead to urinary problems. I have enough getting old(er) issues, I don’t need to add incontinence to the list. I figured out this trick to remember to do Kegels when I was pregnant with my first baby (who is now in college) a long time ago. Every time you’re in your car stopped at a stop light, use that time to do Kegel exercises. Rather than get frustrated waiting at a stop light, use that time for your health.

Take The Stairs – Every time you have a choice to use the stairs or take the elevator or escalator, consider using the stairs. I try to take one or two flights of stairs up (if it’s more than two floors, I take the elevator) and take five or fewer flights down. Its’ an easy way to get that heart rate up and you’ll be surprised how many flights of stairs you come across when you start looking for them. Please check with your physician before you begin any additional physical exercise.

Park Farther from the Door in Parking Lots – I’m often amused at how long people will drive around in a parking lot to get a spot close to the door. Stop doing that. Park farther from the door and walk to the store. Again, you’ll be surprised at how many extra steps you’ll work into your week just by walking a bit farther in the parking lot.

Keep Healthy Snacks Available – I have a confession. I have a carb tooth. I love sweets, but I love crackers, bread and tortillas just as much. I want to eat healthier snacks, but I hear those carb-laden snacks calling my name all day long. I’ve started placing healthier snack options, like fresh fruit and walnuts, out on the kitchen counter so that I see the healthy snacks first. This trick is working well for me. If I wash and separate grapes from the stem before I put them into a pretty bowl and have a bowl of walnuts available, I’m happy to choose those as my snacks. I prepare my healthy snacks in the morning and leave them on the counter all day long for snacking. A happy side benefit is that the kids are snacking on these healthy options more, too.

Connect with Friends and Family – As a part of a military family, I don’t live near my family or most of my friends. It’s important for my social and emotional well-being to keep in touch with my family and friends (and with my oldest “baby” when she returns to college). I plan my day so that I can use time while dusting, washing dishes, wiping switch plates, cleaning baseboards or driving (not in traffic, though and only while using blue-tooth) to talk with family and friends on the phone. A nice side benefit is that I don’t even mind doing chores when I know I can have a good chat at the same time.

Plan Easy and Healthy Lunches – In the past I’ve been guilty of just grabbing lunch, which usually meant not the best choices. I’m worth more than that. I’m worth a flavorful healthy lunch (but one that’s easy to make). I’ve just discovered that Lean Cuisine has protein packed options made with organic ingredient options. Oh, and there are over 30 delicious flavor choices.

While I was on one of my weekly Target trips (I made sure to park on the far end of the parking lot, of course), I picked up some new flavors of LEAN CUISINE® MARKETPLACE meals to try. I found them in the Frozen Entrees aisle of the frozen food section.

Lucky for you and me, the LEAN CUISINE® MARKETPLACE meals are just $2 at Target right now and there’s a $1 off of five coupon available. So, of course, I had to pick up five different flavors.

When I got home I made sure to do some arm work while I carried my groceries into the house. It couldn’t be easier.

With a snow day off of school, it worked out that my two daughters and I were able to enjoy a nice lunch together. It was fast and easy to make. All three of us enjoyed a different choice, but all three were made with organic ingredient options.

Making better choices can be easier with support. Be sure to check out Well Being, a community and reward site providing support with even more healthier living tips for women. Let’s help each other make healthy living choices.

Do you have a favorite healthy living tips for women that you use in your everyday life? I’m always looking for new ways to work healthier options into my day.

Love these simple tips!
And, I am so glad I am not the only one lifting weights when I bring in the groceries. I usually do wall push-ups in the shower, but now I am going to work on those ab muscles in there, too. Thanks for the pointer!

I LOVE these ideas! you are right, there is a lot of “work-out” time available without using your valuable busy time. I am trying out the shower stuff first thing in the morning. 🙂 Please come link up this post at the Home Matters Linky Party–the Door opens when Friday begins and closes when Monday ends EST.

These are great tips. It’s so easy to say we don’t have time to eat right, exercise and all of that. Thanks so much for the reminder that we may not have the hour plus to make it to the gym but we can fit it into our daily routine very easily if we want to.

What great tips these are. I would have never thought to use the grocery bags as weights. Super smart idea. I think it is great that you came up with so many quick things women can do during the day to be more healthy. I will have to look for these dinners also!